The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Tuesday granted Apple a patent for a low-travel keyboard design with Force Touch-like sensors that measure the pressure placed on a key when a user presses or rests a finger on it.

As summarized by AppleInsider, the exhaustive patent filing details how the keyboard would have a switch-less QWERTY input mechanism, rather than mechanical switches, allowing for less key travel and potentially thinner Mac keyboards.

Apple’s current MacBook and Mac accessory lineups employ modified scissor switches, or butterfly switches on the 12-inch Retina MacBook, nestled within hollow key caps. Today’s patent mirrors the aesthetic of existing designs, but deviates from established technology by replacing mechanical switches for a stack of sensors, actuators and supporting circuitry.

Theoretically the system operates akin to Apple’s Force Touch trackpads, but on a much larger scale; one force sensor package for each keyboard key. Force sensors configured to measure downward pressure are integrated beneath the keyboard’s key caps, while integrated actuators — part of the key stack — generate haptic feedback.

The patent filing does not guarantee that Apple will release a Force Touch keyboard, but a pressure-sensitive keyboard is plausible alongside the Magic Trackpad and Force Touch trackpads on MacBooks.

Apple’s new Retina MacBook has been criticized by some over its all-new butterfly mechanism keyboard, which has low key travel, so whether Apple implements this new keyboard design into the rest of its MacBook lineup remains to be seen.

Apple was granted U.S. Patent No. 9,178,509, and credits Jeffrey T. Bernstein as its inventor.

]]>http://kewlkit.com/apple-patents-switch-less-force-touch-keyboard-could-lead-to-thinner-macs/feed/0Microsoft Reduces OneDrive Storage for Office 365 and Free Users, Eliminates Unlimited Optionhttp://kewlkit.com/microsoft-reduces-onedrive-storage-for-office-365-and-free-users-eliminates-unlimited-option/
http://kewlkit.com/microsoft-reduces-onedrive-storage-for-office-365-and-free-users-eliminates-unlimited-option/#commentsTue, 03 Nov 2015 18:01:24 +0000http://www.kewlkit.com/?p=350Monday November 2, 2015 9:56 pm PST by Husain Sumra Microsoft tonight announced that it was making changes to its OneDrive cloud storage services, reducing the amount of storage both Office 365 and free users are granted and eliminating its unlimited option. The company says that the changes were needed to “ensure that we can […]

Microsoft tonight announced that it was making changes to its OneDrive cloud storage services, reducing the amount of storage both Office 365 and free users are granted and eliminating its unlimited option. The company says that the changes were needed to “ensure that we can continue to deliver a collaborative, connected and intelligent service.”

Since we started to roll out unlimited cloud storage to Office 365 consumer subscribers, a small number of users backed up numerous PCs and stored entire movie collections and DVR recordings. In some instances, this exceeded 75 TB per user or 14,000 times the average. Instead of focusing on extreme backup scenarios, we want to remain focused on delivering high-value productivity and collaboration experiences that benefit the majority of OneDrive users.

Office 365 Home, Personal and University subscribers will no longer have access to unlimited storage. Instead, these users will be limited to 1 TB of storage. The 100 GB and 200 GB plans are being eliminated for new users and will be replaced with a 50 GB plan for $1.99 a month, which will launch in early 2016. Free OneDrive users will see their storage decreased from 15 GB to 5 GB, with the 15 GB camera roll storage bonus also being eliminated. These changes will also roll out in early 2016.

Microsoft says it wants to make the transition for its users as easy as possible, outlining the steps its taking to notify users of the change. Office 365 subscribers that have more than 1 TB of storage will be notified and will be allowed to keep their increased storage for 12 months. Office 365 customers who no longer desire the service because of the change will be given a pro-rated refund. Free users who have used more than 5 GB of storage will have access to all their files for 12 months after the changes go into effect in early 2016 and will receive a free one-year subscription to Office 365. Individual OneDrive subscribers to the 100 GB and 200 GB plans will not be affected.

In June 2014, Microsoft boosted its storage plans for OneDrive, bumping Office 365 subscribers from 20 GB to 1 TB before adding unlimited storage in October 2014. The company also increased storage of its free service from 7 GB to 15 GB while also decreasing prices for the 100 GB and 200 GB plans.

At its “Hey Siri” event this year, Apple announced price reductions for its own cloud storage service, iCloud Drive. 5 GB of iCloud storage is free while 50 GB is priced at 99 cents per month, 200 GB is $2.99 per month and 1 TB is $9.99 per month.

]]>http://kewlkit.com/microsoft-reduces-onedrive-storage-for-office-365-and-free-users-eliminates-unlimited-option/feed/0Apple TV 4 Orders Begin Shipping for October 30 and First wave will Delivery in begining of Novhttp://kewlkit.com/apple-tv-4-orders-begin-shipping-for-october-30-delivery/
http://kewlkit.com/apple-tv-4-orders-begin-shipping-for-october-30-delivery/#commentsThu, 29 Oct 2015 09:28:03 +0000http://www.kewlkit.com/?p=195Wednesday October 28, 2015 8:23 pm PDT by Eric Slivka Roughly 24 hours after orders for the new Apple TV began shifting to “Preparing for Shipment” status, Apple has begun notifying customers that their orders have shipped. Early reports so far all appear to be from Australia where it is currently the afternoon of October […]

Roughly 24 hours after orders for the new Apple TV began shifting to “Preparing for Shipment” status, Apple has begun notifying customers that their orders have shipped. Early reports so far all appear to be from Australia where it is currently the afternoon of October 29, and deliveries are scheduled for Friday, October 30. Shipment notifications for customers in other countries should begin rolling out in the coming hours as the clocks roll around into business hours on Thursday.
Apple began taking orders for the Apple TV on Monday, with the earliest deliveries being quoted Friday, October 30 arrival dates. Apple’s own retail stores are also expected tobegin carrying the new Apple TV on Friday, with other retailers such as Best Buy apparently not seeing availability until next week.Press reviews of the new Apple TV landed just a few hours ago, with the new set-top box generally receiving a positive response for its evolutionary advances, although it does not yet completely remake the television experience as many have been hoping for Apple to do for a number of years. One key feature of the new Apple TV is the tvOS App Store, however, and we’ve yet to really see how developers will embrace the new platform that opens up apps to the living room.